


# 67 on the Blacklist

by NYWCgirl



Category: The Blacklist (TV), White Collar
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:26:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3812188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>#67 on Red´s Blacklist is a woman nicknamed ´Mommy´</p>
            </blockquote>





	# 67 on the Blacklist

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the April Amnesty Challenge in the h/c Bingo and is a sequel to ´The collector´, which you can find on my AO3 or LJ. I guess you need to read that story first, be warned that ´The collector´ is explicit.  
> The challenge was : submit one fill crossing over two or more fandoms, using one prompt or combine two, three or all four out of your strip.  
> The prompts were: trapped together, loss of voice, forced to face fear, poltergeist.

Peter was sitting behind his desk, watching the bullpen. All the agents and probies seemed busy, so he glanced at the clock, one in the afternoon; he felt a twinge of hunger and got up.

He walked over to The Greatest Cake and entered the small bakery. The aroma of freshly baked goods filled his nostrils, making his stomach growl. The shop girl was just finishing with a customer.

“Good afternoon agent Burke.”

“Hi Rene, is Neal in?” Peter asked the girl behind the counter. Peter could hear the door bell when another customer entered behind him.

“Yes, sure, agent Burke, walk right in, he is finishing some cakes.” She smiled at him, turning to the new customer.

Peter walked to the back and through the door, finding Neal standing with his back to the door working a large cake. Peter could see him tense up, so he quickly said ´”It´s me, Neal.”

“Oh, hi Peter, I´m sorry.” Neal straightened his back and turned around to face Peter.

“There is nothing to be sorry about.”

“I thought you were someone else.” Neal admitted in a soft voice.

“I know, I should have let myself be announced by Rene.”

“No, no, it is fine.”

“You know, I can have an alarm installed so you will be warned when someone is approaching the door.”

“No, it is fine, I will have to learn to deal with this. I´m working on it. Why are you here? Forgot to pack your lunch?” Neal asked with a big smile.

“Yeah, something like that.”

When Neal´s look showed that he wasn´t buying it, he added. “OK, El made me lunch and it is whole wheat with something healthy.”

“And you were craving for fat and sugar?”

Peter could count on Neal to know what he needed.

“I can make you a ´healthy´ white bun with some self made tuna salad?” Neal suggested.

“Thanks. That would be great. Do you have some coffee to go with it?”

“Help yourself; you know where the machine is. I´m going to finish this quickly and then I´ll make your sandwich.” Neal turned back to the cake and started working again.

The cake looked amazing, a piece of art, whoever ordered it, was very lucky to have such a talented decorator.

Peter watched Neal work and was glad that he was doing better. There was still the tension in Neal whenever someone snuck up on him, but he was definitely doing better, therapy had helped him tremendously and Peter was glad to have his friend back.

Peter was proud that Neal had been able to fight his way back, especially after the second attempt on kidnapping him. Peter had managed to make it look that Cindy and Taylor had faked Neal´s death and that Neal was the victim in this case, and not that Neal had ran off to Paris to start over his life. The DOJ had agreed that Neal had served his sentence and that he was ready for parole, so they were OK that Neal would work in his bakery and checked in once a week with his parole officer.

It sounded now a lot easier than what he had to do to convince everybody, but it had worked out in the end. The therapists at Lennox Hill had told Neal and that he needed routine to get back on his feet. So Mozzie had talked to the bakers of The Greatest Cake and they all had agreed that they needed to start a new line of business, decorated cakes.

In the beginning, the bakers had to do a lot themselves, as Neal sometimes couldn´t get out of bed, or his hands trembled so much from the stress of the commute that he couldn´t hold the pallet knife. But eventually, Neal was doing better and the decorating started picking up. At the moment, they sometimes had to say that they were up to their limit of cakes for the week.

Neal was doing OK, Peter guessed. He was not back to the old Neal Caffrey, but would he ever? Peter had therapy himself for his feelings of guilt and they even had therapy together. They were OK or at least they would be..

He was woken from his thoughts when he felt a plate being shoved in his hands.

“You were daydreaming Peter, stop worrying.” Neal said, biting in his own sandwich.

Peter smiled at the sight, it had taken weeks, before Neal would feed himself, but now he was back to fighting weight and he looked good. Not the old Caffrey brushed off look. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a dark blue T-shirt and sneakers, all designer of course. When it turned out that standing on your feet all day wasn´t a good plan of Italian leather, he quickly switched them for more comfortable shoes. Nothing that the old Neal Caffrey would have worn for a day´s work, but he looked comfortable, relaxed, his hair was even a bit longer and less coiffed. But the grin on his face when he was watching Peter while eating; was genuine.

“Neal, I have to talk to you about something.”

“Sounds serious.” Neal said before stuffing the last bite of sandwich in his mouth.

“Look, I don´t want to spook you, but I told you I would be honest.”

“Spill it already Peter, what happened?

“A CI in Washington says he knows where Cindy is.”

“A CI?”

“Yes, they have a high profile CI, he was number four on our top 10 Wanted list for several years, his name is Raymond Reddington.”

“Why have I never heard from him?”

“With all your criminal connections, you don´t know one of the FBI´s Most Wanted?”

“No, I know who Raymond Reddington is, by name, we never met. But why didn´t I know he was a CI?”

“Well, it is a strange story, the FBI wants to hold a lid on; one day Reddington just walked into the DC head quarters and suggested he would help the FBI catch some criminals and terrorists. He was taken to a FBI Black site, that is why you probably have never heard of him before. He is in a totally different line of work than you are.”

“And now, the FBI wants your help, why else would you suddenly be informed of this classified information.”

“Well, the FBI doesn´t exactly want my help, they want yours. But I told them that I wanted to be involved if you chose to meet him.” Peter placed a hand on Neal arm reassuringly.

“Why do they need my help, I´m not a CI anymore.”

Peter hesitated. He had dreaded this part.

“It has to do with Cindy, doesn´t it?” Neal guessed from the why Peter tried to avoid the answer.

“Yes, he says he has a way to catch Cindy.”

“We need to go to DC?”

“Yes, we have to join them over there.”

 

* * *

 

“You must be Neal Caffrey, I can see why you were Cindy´s favorite and why she wants you back.” The man cocked his head to the side and gave a small smile while extending his hand and taking his hat off with the other.

Neal also took off his hat and shook the extended hand. “Yes, I am, so you must be Raymond Reddington. Nice to meet you, as one former C I to another one.”

“Please call me Red, everybody does.”

“I was informed by agent Burke that you wanted to talk to me?” Neal said politely.

“Yes, You realize that only three persons on this earth survived being Cindy´s pets, and since you were a CI, I thought it only best to contact you instead of Christine or Richard, they were innocent victims in all of this.”

“I am glad nobody considers me an innocent victim. I wouldn´t know what I can do to help the FBI catch Cindy.” Neal said matter of factly, but he radiated offence.

Raymond stepped closer and waved his hat towards Neal.

“Oh, but you can, when Cindy hears from me that I have you in my custody, she will come out of hiding.”

Neal had visibly paled.

“NO.” Peter interjected. He turned to the man who had introduced himself as Assistant Director Harold Cooper. “I am not letting you use a civilian as bait.”

“It may be our only chance to catch Cindy, Peter. You know she is good, she slipped through your hands and she just disappeared. She is not even in the States anymore. Red however has a way to contact her.”

“I´ll do it.” Neal interjected.

“Thank you, Neal.” Raymond said looking at Peter and Harold. “Dembe here will make sure nothing will happen to you, Neal. I promise.”

“And we will implant a GPS transmitter under your skin, so we can always track you.” Harold said.

“Neal, you don´t have to do this.” Peter had an air of unease. Neal had seen it creep into Peter once they had entered the black site, but it only got worse now that they knew what the FBI wanted from them.

“OK, I´ll do it. Peter is coming?”

“If you want him to.” AD Cooper said.

“Yes, I want him to.” Neal looked at Peter for reassurance. Peter just nodded to Neal that everything would be alright.

 

* * *

 

“Cindy, what a delight to see you.” Red smiled at here, taking her demeanor in.

“I wish I could say the same about you, Red. What do you want?

“I acquired something that I think is yours.”

“I didn´t realize I lost something.” Her look was suspicious.

“Let´s go to my room and I will show you.”

“You seriously think I will go into your hotel room with you. I don´t think so.” Cindy stood up and took her purse, ready to leave.

“OK, where do you want to meet? Because I don´t want him sedated too long …”

Red could see he had Cindy´s attention again. Red started humming a Sinatra song and he could see it clicked in Cindy´s mind.

“What do you want for him?” She said coldly.

“Let´s say I need a bit of information, I am looking for The cardmaker, I acquire his services.”

“OK, show him.”

“Dembe, can you please show the lady the merchandise?” Raymond asked pleasantly. He waved at the waiter to order a fresh cup of coffee and some [Pączki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%85czki).

Cindy walked behind Dembe to the room and looked at the wooden crate in the middle of the room. Dembe opened it and took the lid off. There he was, pet, her blue eyed angel. She smiled at the fond memories. He appeared to not to be restrained and in good condition. Cindy couldn´t see any marks or wounds on him. She wasn´t surprised. Red was known for his professionalism. Just to make sure, she pressed her fingers to his neck and checked for a pulse. It was a bit slow, but that was probably due to the sedation red had used.

While Cindy bended down over Neal, she started thinking. She needed to do something, she wasn´t planning on being in Reddington´s debt. She opened her purse and put her hand on the gun inside. She stilled when she heard a click to her left. Reddington stood next to her with a gun drawn.

“Cindy, Cindy… what have I ever done to you that you would try to get the merchandise for free?” Red was shaking his head.

“Don´t be ridiculous, I would never such a thing.”

Reddington just looked at her. “You know the prize Cindy, if you tell me where I can find The cardmaker, I will give you your pet back.”

“I will have to make some calls.”

“Then do so, you know where to find me. It is always nice doing business with you.”

After Cindy had left, and Raymond had closed and locked the hotel door, he called out to Peter to come out of hiding. Peter had been monitoring everything in the adjacent room, so all information was stored correctly on the laptop.

Dembe kneeled next to Neal and tried to rouse him. They had wanted Neal to just lie in the wooden crate, pretending to be unconscious, but when Neal got in, his anxiety had gone through the roof and everybody involved had agreed that this wasn´t going to work. Neal had agreed to a very low dose of sedative to make it look authentic, knowing that Peter, Dembe and Red were there in the room to protect him.

When Neal didn´t rouse immediately, Peter started worrying and told Dembe to get an ambulance, but instead Dembe filled a syringe with a counter agent and injected it. Neal woke with a small gasp.

“Was she here?” Neal asked a bit dazed.

“Yes, she saw you and took the bait, as soon as she calls, we can have the team come in.” Peter explained to Neal.

 

* * *

 

The next day Cindy called Red telling him she would meet him at Club ładny in one hour. And he better bring pet with him.

When he put down the phone he asked Neal if he was ready to face his demon or if he rather would be sedated again. Neal chose to be conscious when they were going in, as the meet would take place in an unknown place, so he could defend himself if necessary. Red nodded in agreement.

“Remember Neal, Dembe and I will protect you, I will make sure nothing will happen to you.” He took Neal in an embrace, being smaller than Neal, he needed to look up.

“I know you will take care of me. Now let´s get Cindy.” Neal whispered, seeing the sincerity in the other man´s eyes.

Once Neal got in the wooden crate, he started breathing heavily, Peter knelt next to him and told him to slow down his breathing or he would pass out from hyperventilation. He deliberately breathed loud and slow so Neal could match it.

“Thanks for not telling me to cowboy up.” Neal smiled. “OK, I think I have it under control.”

“Would you feel more comfortable if I gave you a gun?” Red asked.

“No, I probably wouldn´t. I have my picks with me, I can get out of almost anything that way.”

“Ready?”

“No.” Neal started to look anxious and Peter could tell, he would never be able to relax, this was not a good way to start this op.

“What if I go in with you, would you feel more safe?” Peter suggested.

“Yes.” Neal said firmly.

“OK, change of plan; I am going in with Neal.”

 

* * *

 

Dembe drove the van towards the club and into the back alley; Cindy´s men pulled out the crate and carried it inside towards the back of the building.

“Cindy, what a delight to see you.” Red said with a smile on his face, he took her hand and gave it a kiss. “You have the information, I want?”

“Why so formal, let´s gave a drink first.”

“You know I am always in for a good miod pitny, but my jet is waiting for me, so I want to take care of business and be on my way, my customer is waiting for me.”

“Open the box” Cindy told one of her men.

“Before you open the box, I must say I have a little extra for you. I found an agent snooping around my hotel. I think you know him. See him as a little bonus.”

When the box opened, Peter and Neal blinked against the harsh lights. They were gagged and their hands were fastened behind their backs with handcuffs. Cindy could see that they were so loose, that they could slip them immediately if necessary.

Peter just glared at her, but Cindy could see the change in Neal´s demeanor the moment he saw her. He was still traumatized, so much was clear to her. She could see his breathing picking up and his face paled.

“Ah, pet, I knew I would get you back, it was just a matter of time. Will you be a good pet again or do I need to have you trained again? My boys are more than ready to take care of a nice pet like you.” Cindy let her fingers comb through Neal´s hair. “And agent Burke, what a coincidence. I guess I will have more fun with you than I will have with pet.”

Peter could also see Neal´s breathing picked up in speed and a fine tremor was visible. Hopefully Neal could keep it together.

“OK Cindy, where is The Cardmaker? You can play with your boy toys when I´m gone.” Red´s voice sounded annoyed.

“Relax, Red, I have it here.” She walked back to the desk that was standing in the room and opened a drawer.

But Red was quicker, he already knew Cindy would never present him with the whereabouts of The cardmaker. She just wanted pet back, and it suited Red fine. He had what he wanted. Cindy.

Even before Red had his gun drawn, Dembe had, so now they were in a standoff, Cindy and her men against Red and Dembe. Peter quickly pushed Neal over to relative safety, hiding behind a big chair.

“Cindy, you disappoint me, I would have expected you to be in New York.” Red knew that saying the activation code, the black ops squad would burst through the door, arresting Cindy.

However, Cindy´s men were tired of waiting and started shooting at Red and Dembe who ducted for safety. Peter engaged in the gun fight, not paying attention to Neal, but fully concentrated on Cindy´s men.

Cindy launched for Neal, if she could get him, she could bargain her way out. It was clear that the FBI agent would never jeopardize the life of a civilian.

Neal had been focused on what was going between the men, not realizing that the real threat came from behind him. He froze when he felt a gun being pushed in his back. “Let´s go pet, I know you want to be with Mommy.”

Neal wanted to say something and opened his mouth, but his throat had closed up and he couldn´t get anything out. He was sort of paralyzed. He knew that he could take Cindy, physically, he could, he was bigger, heavier, stronger, he should do something, he… But for some reason, he didn´t do anything. He just stood there and let himself be dragged out of the room.

“Oh please Cindy, do you really think you are getting out of this room with my merchandize without payment, you are insane.” Red emphasized the last part of the sentence and had held his arms out, the gun pointing to the ground.

Neal could see that Raymond was trying to ease the situation, but he could feel the tension in Cindy´s body. He knew she wouldn´t think twice about killing him. If she couldn´t have him, nobody could. He didn´t even wanted to know what she thought about Peter and the others.

At that moment several black ops agents entered the room with assault rifles drawn.

Neal could feel in her body movements that she was ready to shoot him and he could hear the gun being cocked. Neal realized that nobody had a clear shot at Cindy, because she was smaller than him and was almost completely covered by his body. At that moment he could only take one decision, he grabbed her hand with the gun behind his back and twisted, but he couldn´t get the trajectory away from him enough and he could feel hot searing pain in his side. He used all his strength to stay up and managed to twist the gun out of her hand and without really aiming, his vision was already graying out, he pulled the trigger and felt Cindy´s body seize and then go limp.

And while Cindy went down, Neal wanted to turn to see if Peter, Red and Dembe were OK. He heard Peter frantically shouting his name, but he passed out before he could answer Peter.

 

* * *

Neal felt … a roaring sensation, vibrating through his body, next his hearing came back. He heard distant voices talking, casually, non threatening. He could feel something on his face, but he could breathe. In his hand he felt something strange, like a pinch, and a bandage, an IV maybe? Wait he had felt this before, had he dreamt it of was this a déjà vu?

Had he been in an accident? He couldn´t remember. But with the return of his senses, he moved, which alerted somebody sitting next to him. A calm familiar voice told him to relax.

He tried to open his eyes and startled a bit when something warm, wet and soft was wiped over his face. He tried again and this time he could open his eyes to small slits.

“Welcome back, Neal.” It was Peter. He was sitting next to Neal and he was holding a towel. So it had to be him who had wiped his face. “You did good, Neal, now rest, we are back on our way to the States.”

Neal wanted to ask how they were on their way back to the States, but he was so tired, he could only close his eyes and let himself drift away again.

 

The next time he woke, there was no movement, so they were probably standing still, but when Neal opened his eyes, he could see they were still in a plane and by the looks of it, it was Red´s private plane. He tried to get up but groaned when the pain hit him.

“You must stay still.” Neal looked up and saw Dembe standing next to him. He had a bottle of water and fed Neal some of the water. “Sleep.”

They must have spiked the water, because Neal felt his eyes close on their own violation.

 

* * *

 

The next time he woke, he felt he was lying in something soft and luxurious. He sighed, he felt good, really good, too good actually, and the bed he was lying in, was so soft. It was only then that he realized he had to be on some strong painkillers to feel so good.

“Neal?” a very familiar voice questioned.

“P´ter?” Neal opened his eyes and smiled.

“How are you feeling?” Peter sounded worried.

“Fine… I guess, when and how did I get here?”

“Red dropped us off last night. His personal physician is also here, he just went down to June´s to get some breakfast, he has been checking you continuously through the night.”

“He did?”

Peter nodded and the strain on his face softened a bit.

“You want something?”

“Some water would be nice, but I want to see you break the lid.” Peter smiled at the memory. He got Neal some bottled water and cracked the seal when Neal could see it.

“Doctor says you will be fine. You side will be sore for a while, but no lasting effects.”

“That is good to hear.” Neal placed his head back on the pillow and felt his eyes droop. “Will you stay?”

“I wouldn´t think of leaving you. Now rest, El will be visiting soon and Neal also wants to see his favorite uncle.”

Neal fell back asleep with a smile on his face.

 

* * *

 

Neal was working in The Greatest Cake, when he heard the door open and close. He could hear Rene talking to a male customer. Then the door opened and Rene came back.

“Neal, there is a man that wants to talk to you, he says he knows you.”

Neal took a deep breath and looked around how he could get away, but then remembered to breathe through it. After he collected himself, he walked into the store.

“I was informed this is the place to come for the greatest cake in New York City.” Red smiled.

“Red!” Neal walked around the counter and gave Red a bear hug. Rene left the two men some privacy and went to the back of the story..

“How are you doing?” Red cocked his head a bit while he was taking in Neal´s appearance.

“Good, good, I came back to work two weeks ago, the wound healed well thanks to your physician.”

“I´m proud of you, Neal.”

Both men just stared at each other for a moment.

“Peter told me that one of the black ops agents shot Cindy. My memory, although sketchy, tells me something else. I remember it happening differently.” Neal looked a bit anxiously.

“That is what Dembe and I saw and is in the official report. If I am correct, Peter signed off on it. So I wouldn´t worry about it. You were injured severely, and lost a lot of blood. She shot you, remember?” Raymond just looked at him.

“Yeah, I passed out almost immediately.”

There was a pause as Neal stared at the ground.

“Peter told me that I don´t need to worry about Cindy. She was seriously injured and probably will stay permanently disabled because of it.”

“Yes, I wouldn´t worry too much, Polish prisons aren´t known for their high escape rates. She won´t be extradided to the United States, she was sentenced to twenty years for human trafficking”

“I also heard that Taylor met his unfortunate demise in jail.” Neal said softly.

“Oh well, those things happen. I´m glad you are doing well, Neal.”

Red was still looking at Neal with his head cocked and his hat in his hands in front of him.                 

Neal was speechless after Red´s cold report of the facts. But he understood that it was Red´s way to assure Neal he had nothing to fear, his enemies had been taken care of.

“So, Neal, how about a piece of cake?”                                                              

“Red velvet, OK?”

“Is there any other?”

 

 

_The end._

**Author's Note:**

> For pictures of the cakes I imagine Neal decorating in The Greatest Cake, see my LJ: http://nywcgirl.livejournal.com/37327.html


End file.
